Democratic Sen. Mark Warner has won a fourth term representing Virginia, defeating Republican Bert Mizusawa on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported through PBS News. The AP called the race at 7 p.m. Eastern time, right as polls closed in the state.
Warner is one of the senior Democrats in the chamber. He serves as vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, which oversees the nation's spy agencies and plays a central role in national security matters.
His opponent, Mizusawa, is a retired Army major general and a veteran of the war in Afghanistan. He ran as the Republican nominee against a well-known incumbent in a state that has leaned Democratic in recent statewide races.
The setting of the race made it notable. Virginia has some of the highest numbers of federal workers in the country. Those workers bore the brunt of President Donald Trump's push to cut the federal workforce early in his second term. That made government jobs and the effects of the cuts a live issue for many Virginia voters.
Warner's quick win kept the seat in Democratic hands as the party tried to build a path to a Senate majority. Democrats needed to hold their own seats while picking up others. Early in the evening they got good news in Georgia, where Sen. Jon Ossoff won reelection, and in North Carolina, where former Gov. Roy Cooper flipped an open seat.
The full balance of power in Congress was still being sorted out as returns came in from other states. Raw 100.5 will keep following results from around the country as more races are called.
Sources: PBS News, The Associated Press